Waitomo District Council is seeking public support for a dot and carry tactic to keep rates down to about 5.91% this year.
The council is seeking support for financial policy changes to enable it to put off depreciation payments on some new assets from recent projects.
Funding only a portion of depreciation on drinking water, wastewater and stormwater assets will save $500,000 according to the council’s draft plan.
The council is asking public permission to extend the policy by not funding the most recent increased asset valuation of its Three Waters infrastructure, which will save $248,000.
If the current Three Waters assets do not pass to a new waters entity, the policy will need to be reviewed, and will have an impact on future rates.
Also endangering rates is the $9 million council-approved project to build a new reservoir and dedicated rising main to help avoid summer water shortages.
This project has no impact on this year’s rates as it will be loan funded. If the three waters reforms go ahead as planned, the debt will transfer to the new water entity, but if the reforms are changed and the council keeps its three waters assets, there will be rates to pay for the $9 million project.
Recent severe weather events have highlighted a need to increase spending on stormwater maintenance. Some increase can be managed with a minimal impact on rates, but the council is offering ratepayers three options:
n No additional spend, minimum pipe cleaning and inspections and no improvements.
n Spend $110,000 extra on pipe cleaning and inspections and $240,000 on some improvement. This will cost the average value residential Te Kūiti property an extra $42.
n Spend $300,000 extra on pipe cleaning and inspections and $240,000 on some improvements – which will cost the average residential Te Kūiti property an extra $113. This is the preferred option.
Submissions closed on May 1 and hearings are scheduled for May 18.
The next development at the Te Kūiti landfill is on the back burner.
The council has hired consultants to assess the affordability of the landfill over its lifetime so it can compare other options such as transporting waste to a managed landfill site such as Hampton Downs.
The work would be loan funded so there would be no rates impact for this project in the coming year.
Rates revenue required for the 2023/24 financial year is $22.2 million, an increase of 5.91%.
Nearly a third of the increase is interest costs on council debt, which is forecast to be $370,000 more than the current financial year.
To reduce the outliers in calculating an average rate increase, the council has decided to reduce the uniform annual general charge (UAGC) to help bring more properties closer to the average rate increase of 5.91%.
It has proposed to maintain the percentage of rates it received from residential properties at 36% and pastoral properties at 31%.
Setting the UAGC at $340 (down from $423) will make the rate increase more even across most ratepayers in the district and help maintain these percentages.
There is still wide range of movement for individual properties due to the spread of cost increases across different council activities.
Most council fees and charges are being increased between 5% and 7% to ensure costs are recovered so that council services are not subsidised further by rates.
The inflation at 7.2% services provided by contractors in roading, water supply, wastewater, stormwater and solid waste will increase in cost. Metered water charges will also increase as cost increases are forecast for water supply.
